Let's mull the motives of City Manager Mike O'Brien

There has never been any doubt in anyone's mind that members of the City Council, the people we elect, are diehard fans of City Manager Mike O'Brien, the person they appoint.

The frustration has always been that councilors have often put their love of the manager above the best interest of the community, a proclivity that surfaced again last night when they voted without deliberation to allow the manager to pursue a job offer with WinnCompanies, a national real estate firm that is doing substantial business in the city.

The company is involved with the development of the former Worcester Vocational Technical School to 84 units of mixed-income multifamily housing; and the former Chevalier Furniture building into 64-units of mixed-income apartments.

It also manages several other properties in the city, including Coes Pond Village, Hadley Apartments, Matheson Apartments, and Wellington Community.

It is the council's duty to determine whether this job offer undermines the manager's ability, now and perhaps in the future if his contract is extended, to put the city first when it comes to doing business with this company.

On the surface it would seem that the manager wanted them to do such soul-searching.

"I would request that the City Council … if deemed so appropriate, provide me with a written determination that the interests identified herein are not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which I am expected to provide for the city," he wrote in his letter disclosing the job offer, adding that time is of the essence.

But Mr. O'Brien, who is under contract until 2015 and who the council is obligated to let know by Sept. 24 whether they intend to extend his contract, was not really looking for guidance, I believe, but was playing hardball.

By disclosing that he has a suitor with a lucrative offer, he hopes to maximize his chances of a lucrative long-term contract with the city, and chances are he will.

Mr. Rushton has essentially guaranteed such a contract, by assuring the manager that if he turns down the WinnCompanies' offer and sticks around, he will get a "solid" contract, and moreover, he would eventually become the city's face on Mount Rushmore.

He also gave us the following caveat.

"There will be skeptics out there who think that Mike O'Brien is only thinking about his next contract, but let's be honest, his family comes first," Mr. Rushton told City Hall reporter Nick Kotsopoulos.

"Any decision he makes has to be based on the best interest of his family."

Of course we would rather that the manager's decision be based on the best interest of the city. We might be expecting too much, but perhaps with unusual sarcasm, Mr. Rushton was suggesting that there is little in the city's interest to having a sitting manager discussing and exploring job opportunities with a company that does big business in the city.

Unlike Mr. Rushton, Mr. O'Brien was astute enough to play up his community commitment rather than that of his family.

"No one I know can predict the future," he said.

"What I can predict is I will always, always act in the very best interests of our community and I will continue to dedicate 175 percent of myself to the role each and every day I am city manager."

I am sure he will.

But with fans like Mr. Rushton he doesn't need to assure us of anything and he doesn't need to play hardball. But perhaps he thinks that if he doesn't, he will expose his fans' irrelevance and that would not be in his best interest.